Classical Music in Review

By Alex Ross

Published: December 5, 1992

Petras Geniusas, Pianist Alice Tully Hall

On paper, Petras Geniusas's recital on Saturday night at Alice Tully Hall held great promise: an eclectic, imaginative program ranging from Clementi to Berio, Brahms to Liszt. But this young Lithuanian pianist, recent winner of the Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition, seemed only fitfully in command of the repertory he had chosen. Berio's cycle of piano pieces based on the ancient elements -- "Wasserklavier," "Erdenklavier," "Luftklavier" and "Feuerklavier" -- came off well; Mr. Geniusas was adept at drawing out the proto-Minimalist atmosphere of the first piece, composed in 1964.

But the Brahms First Sonata sounded distinctly underrehearsed, with a tentative articulation of the first-movement coda and some dismaying miscues in the final two movements. Tempos were too slow, the dynamics narrow, the phrasing often mannered. Mr. Geniusas draws a handsome tone from the piano, but this Brahms was not of recital quality.

Things went a little better during the second half: Clementi's Sonata in F sharp minor (Op. 26) had the proper austerity of mood, and Prokofiev's magnificently malicious "Sarcasms" (Op. 27) were incisively characterized. But Mr. Geniusas went astray again during Liszt's transcription of the "Liebestod" from "Tristan und Isolde": the crucial tremolos were uneven, the rubato exaggerated. The concluding group of Liszt pieces ("Csardas Obstinee," "Pastorale," "Au Bord d'une Source," "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10") allowed some impressive displays of technique, although (as in the Brahms) a broad expressive range was missing. Throughout the evening Mr. Geniusas displayed some annoying stage mannerisms, particularly a habit of gesticulating in the air that faintly recalled Liberace.